Who are "those your right hand posses"?

(All the translations of this entry were made by me)

Except from their spouses or who they control rightfully. Indeed they are not blameworthy.

- Recitation 23:6

Except from their spouses or who they control rightfully. Indeed they are not blameworthy.

- Recitation 70:30

These two almost identical verses talk about a set of women which can be "controlled rightfully". What does that mean? Are they slaves? Let's see...

And whoever is not able to afford to marry among the modest female acceptors then from the young/unmarried women you, the acceptors, control rightfully. And God knows best about your acceptance. You are from one another, so marry them with the permission of their family and give them their dowry honourably. Be chaste and do not be promiscuous and do not make friends. Then when they are married and if they commit immorality then for them is half of the punishment that is on the modest women. That is from whoever among you fear committing sin and that of you who is patient is better for you. And God is Forgiving, Merciful.

- Recitation 4:25

This gives us an advice, we cannot have sex with rightfully controlled women before we marry them. And they are mentioned separately from the spouses because the contract of marriage is different.

It is not of a prophet that there should be for him captives until he has defeated them in the land. You desire commodities of this world but God desires for you the Hereafter. And God is Mighty, Wise.

- Recitation 8:67

So when you meet those who reject strike them until you defeat them, then tide them up, then either favour them afterwards or ransom them until the war lays down its burdens. That and if God had willed surely He could have taken retribution from them but to test some of you with others and those who are killed in the way of God, He will never cause their deeds to be lost.

 - Quran 47:4

8:67 tells us that no prophet had captives except prisoners of war. 47:4 says that prisoners of war were liberated after the war ended.

This is very intuitive, slavery is prohibited, prisoners of war may be taken but they must be freed after the war ends. Taking prisoners of war is important for an army to negotiate.

 Who can be these women then?

My best answer is the following:

When the Mumin Army (Muhammad's Army) waged war, they captured lots of territory. When the enemy surrendered before they were completely destroyed they demanded tribute (this is "yizia", not a religiously discriminatory tax but a demand for peace treaties).

When the enemy did not surrender (typically the mushrikeen as they hated the Muminun a lot) they destroyed their army and captured the territory.

In this case, non-fighting people (kids, old men, women, injured, ill, etc) were then under Mumin rule.

Thus, the verse instructed the Muminun to try to marry modest women, but if they couldn't they could marry anyone, including the (sometimes) immoral women that lived in conquered lands.

These women received half the punishment because many of them were slaves in the past and none of them voluntarly joined the Muminun nor received education on the Mumin values.

They are referred as "those who you control rightfully" because they were conquered by the Muminun in a just war.